Finding a lawyer for home purchase

[Malvie]

Originally Posted by Winebrat

So, I am wading through the inspection agents and narrowing down who we like, but what's the best way to go about finding a lawyer for our impending home purchase? What kind of lawyer am I looking for? I want someone who is going to be an asset and not just a paper pusher...

Unless you're buying major commercial real estate, you don't need a lawyer in Texas. The Title Companies here (residential) provide closing services and the Realtor (Broker) is perfectly capable of drawing up a purchase contract. Most of us have the Realtor write up the contract, then the Title Company does all the "work". The Title Company issues a policy of Title Insurance, which protects the buyer from defects that may be found in the Title (nobody here does abstracts for residential purchases, unlike other states). The Title Company, therefore, has a vested interest in making sure that you are protected (because they don't want to have to pay a claim if they don't do their homework). The Title Company also hosts/arranges the closing, including document preparation. Sometimes there are glitches, but mainly they go off without a hitch.

As the prior poster pointed out, if you're dealing with a bank and your lawyer works the contract over, you most likely won't get an acceptance.

[Winebrat]

not dealing with a foreclosure, so no worries there. I'll have to think about it. Our relo co is paying for "normal attorney fees" so cost isn't an issue...thanks for all the input!

[modster]

Originally Posted by Winebrat

not dealing with a foreclosure, so no worries there. I'll have to think about it. Our relo co is paying for "normal attorney fees" so cost isn't an issue...thanks for all the input!

You might find out what "normal attorney fees" means. Usually on the closing statement there is a line item for an attorney fee that the title company used to draw up the documents, but that did not represent you. It is usually a very small figure. Your relo package may be referring to that. Having an attorney present is really not "normal," but not out of left field either. You need to clarify what they are talking about covering.

I have done a few deals where people had an Attorney present. I would never tell someone don't get legal counsel if that is what you want. The closing documents that the title company draws up, however, are all standard and quite frankly the attorney won't have the luxury of changing any of them. If you don't like the forms, you don't buy a house. So there really isn't anything they are going to do for you there. I have seen them pose and pontificate over forms at closing, then the people sign them anyway, there is nothing to change. For me personally I just see the clock ticking on their fees for nothing, but that is just me. The initial contract forms are standardized fill in the blank forms. As a "lay person" you should be able to read and understand them as well.

If it turns out that the relo package does NOT cover having an attorney present to represent you, personally, I wouldn't waste the money unless you came across a problem or concern during the process. That is just my opinion, if you still feel like you need one, by all means I would go ahead.

[chris_ut]

Typically you would only hire your own attorney if you are doing a person to person real estate transaction with no agents involved i.e. purchasing with owner financing on a for sale by owner property.

[Winebrat]

Thanks all. One less thing I have to freak out about

[Lake Conroe resident]

[quote=modster;9926557]
I have done a few deals where people had an Attorney present. I would never tell someone don't get legal counsel if that is what you want. The closing documents that the title company draws up, however, are all standard and quite frankly the attorney won't have the luxury of changing any of them. If you don't like the forms, you don't buy a house. So there really isn't anything they are going to do for you there. I have seen them pose and pontificate over forms at closing, then the people sign them anyway, there is nothing to change. For me personally I just see the clock ticking on their fees for nothing, but that is just me. The initial contract forms are standardized fill in the blank forms. As a "lay person" you should be able to read and understand them as well.

This is exactly right; on the other hand some folks don't necessarily want the attorney's to re-write, or scratch a contract, rather they just want to know what the score is before entering the game, which is fine as long as they don't mind paying the extra $ to get it.

[StewartG]

FULL DISCLOSURE: I am a lawyer, but not the real estate kind!

Personally, I think it is a pretty good idea to have a lawyer review your docs prior to closing. Most real estate lawyers who do this kind of work will charge 250 to 500 to review docs. Typically they will not go to closing (nothing happens there anyway except wrist cramps from all the signing.) You might be surprised at some of the errors/omissions lawyers will find in the paperwork!

I'm not sure if this is against forum rules (mods, please feel free to edit if it is), but I would suggest you contact the Houston Lawyer Referral Service if you have no other options to find a real estate lawyer. The HLRS is a non-profit service of the Houston Bar Associations to help people find a lawyer. To be a member, you have to go through a basic background check, screening, and must have malpractice insurance.

The Houston Lawyer Referral Service - Houston, Tx

[Mommy/Artist/Lawyer]

Originally Posted by modster

You might find out what "normal attorney fees" means. Usually on the closing statement there is a line item for an attorney fee that the title company used to draw up the documents, but that did not represent you. It is usually a very small figure. Your relo package may be referring to that. Having an attorney present is really not "normal," but not out of left field either. You need to clarify what they are talking about covering.

I have done a few deals where people had an Attorney present. I would never tell someone don't get legal counsel if that is what you want. The closing documents that the title company draws up, however, are all standard and quite frankly the attorney won't have the luxury of changing any of them. If you don't like the forms, you don't buy a house. So there really isn't anything they are going to do for you there. I have seen them pose and pontificate over forms at closing, then the people sign them anyway, there is nothing to change. For me personally I just see the clock ticking on their fees for nothing, but that is just me. The initial contract forms are standardized fill in the blank forms. As a "lay person" you should be able to read and understand them as well.

If it turns out that the relo package does NOT cover having an attorney present to represent you, personally, I wouldn't waste the money unless you came across a problem or concern during the process. That is just my opinion, if you still feel like you need one, by all means I would go ahead.

I agree that all of the real estate forms are just boiler plate. So there is absolutely no reason why selling a house should cost a person 6 percent of the sales price instead of a reasonable flat fee. It would certainly help keep the price of houses down if sellers didn't have to inflate the price to recoup the agent's commission. I didn't have an agent when I bought my last house. I found the house on line and used the fact that the seller was saving 3 percent to bring the price down. When I sold my last house I used a flat fee broker and paid a flat fee of $500.00 instead of $18,000.00 in commissions. It was really pretty easy.

[Malvie]

Originally Posted by Mommy/Artist/Lawyer

I agree that all of the real estate forms are just boiler plate. So there is absolutely no reason why selling a house should cost a person 6 percent of the sales price instead of a reasonable flat fee. It would certainly help keep the price of houses down if sellers didn't have to inflate the price to recoup the agent's commission. I didn't have an agent when I bought my last house. I found the house on line and used the fact that the seller was saving 3 percent to bring the price down. When I sold my last house I used a flat fee broker and paid a flat fee of $500.00 instead of $18,000.00 in commissions. It was really pretty easy.

That's why I think it's just silly to have a lawyer look over the contract. What's he going to do, read the boilerplate (that is used thousands of times daily in Texas) and pronounce it "good"?